Although exploratory and developmental activity in electron beam testing (EBT) 25 years, it was not had already been in existence in research laboratories for over until the beginning of the 1980s that it was taken up seriously as a technique for integrated circuit (IC) testing. While ICs were being fabricated on design rules of several microns, the mechanical ne edle probe served quite adequately for internal chip probing. This scenario changed with growing device complexity and shrinking geometries, prompting IC manufacturers to take note ofthis new testing technology. It required several...

Although exploratory and developmental activity in electron beam testing (EBT) 25 years, it was not had already been in existence in research laboratories for over until the beginning of the 1980s that it was taken up seriously as a technique for integrated circuit (IC) testing. While ICs were being fabricated on design rules of several microns, the mechanical ne edle probe served quite adequately for internal chip probing. This scenario changed with growing device complexity and shrinking geometries, prompting IC manufacturers to take note ofthis new testing technology. It required several...